Travel Photo Roulette Round 17: Architecture

And the Winner of Travel Photo Roulette Round 17 is…….

All of the 25 entries for this round of Travel Photo Roulette were amazing and the decision was really hard choosing only one winner. Each photo, like architecture, is unique in its own way. But the one that I thought had the most pop and kept my interest the longest was Magda’s photo submission of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. The image is clean and very sharp, the angled view of the architecture is very interesting and keeps the eyes of the viewer entertained with textures and complimenting colors, and the dynamic range of contrast is excellent.

Congratulations to Magda who will now choose the theme for and host Photo Roulette Round 18. I look forward to seeing the submissions for the next round.

Welcome to Travel Photo Roulette 17: Architecture

The last round was hosted by Beached Eskimo with the theme of “Learning.” I won that round with this photo of my daughter doing her schoolwork on the beach in Kauai and look forward to seeing some great photos for this next round.

Beach School

This Week’s Theme: Architecture

When we found out that we had won the previous round of Photo Roulette we were in Central America visiting Costa Rica and Nicaragua. My wife Kerri and I thought long and hard on what theme to choose for this next round and after visiting Nicaragua the answer came to us. Costa Rica is a beautiful country with amazing rain forests, beaches, wildlife, and people. But what it lacks is stunning architecture. But just to the north is history rich Nicaragua with many beautiful and colorful buildings dating to the 16th century. Every place we travel to we always marvel at the architecture, as I am sure most people do. In the comments below post a link to a photo of a building or part of a building that shows beautiful, unique, amazing, or even bizarre architecture. Here is my example taken from inside a church in Granada, Nicaragua:

Church Column in Granada, Nicaragua

Please try to get as many people as possible involved by sharing this page by using the share buttons at the bottom.

Contest Rules

The rules of the game are simple. The hosting blogger is the chosen winner of the previous week’s (7 days) game. The new host chooses a generic keyword or phrase that other travelers submit photos to during the course of the week. Phrases can be as generic as ‘signs’ all the way to abstract thoughts like ‘religion’ and everything in between. At the end of the week, the hosting blogger chooses their favorite photo that fits the chosen phrase and moves it to the top of the post as the winning entry with direction to the new host’s site for the next round.

Readers can attempt to sway the author into picking a certain photo via comments, but the author (that’s me!) can ignore comments as they see fit. The game is repeated with the winner hosting the following week’s game and choosing a phrase for new photo submissions.

Previous Photo Roulette Hosts

The following is a list of the previously played rounds of the game and the hosting blogger for each. This list also doubles as a winner’s table as each topic host won the preceding round! Click the host’s link to go directly to that entry to see some stunning photographs from the chosen term/phrase!

And a big kudos goes out to Jeremy of Living the Dream who started this whole thing. What an amazing idea to allow us travel bloggers to share our photos with others.

Extra Criteria to Keep in Mind When Submitting a Photo:

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One submission per Blog (so sites that have 2+ authors only get one entry).

No photoshopping allowed unless specifically called for! Cropping and correction for red-eye or camera flaws are ok, however. Like most of those before me I’m happy to allow photoshopping. Just don’t get too crazy with it.

Abstract submissions welcomed as long as it fits within the interpretation of the chosen phrase. Remember, the hosting blogger chooses the winner, so if they cannot understand the submission, you might not win!

Keep phrases general so that all bloggers can participate. Specific items like “Eiffel Tower” should be avoided but rather made open-ended like “monuments.” For variety, it is ok to say focused things such as “monuments at night” in which most of us have pictures of.

Abstract thoughts are appreciated, but keep it within the realm that all readers will understand. No “Kafka-esque”, but “Overlooking Creation” is able to be interpreted by all.

No obscene pictures or phrases allowed. Suggestive phrases and photography can be accepted, but please keep it within reason.

After a sufficient period of time, phrases can be reused, however new photos must be submitted.

Keep the ideas and photos fresh!

Pictures from your entire portfolio are fair to submit. You do not have to take the photo within the week of the contest period to submit it.

Most importantly, ALL PHOTOS MUST BE YOUR OWN.

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To Submit An Image

To enter in the Photo Roulette competition simply leave a comment below with a link to the image (whether Flickr, Picasa or your own site) and I’ll upload it to this post. Don’t forget to provide a brief description or caption for the photo so the viewers can get a little background as to what’s happening.

Check back here through the week to see all the entries as they come in – feel free to comment on them. The contest runs for 7 days, with the submission date being now until Friday, May 27th, 2011 . I’ll announce the winner on Sunday, May 29, and he or she will host round 18.

One last rule, since this is a competition for bloggers, we need you to be a blogger to be declared a winner. Sorry!

It’s a shot of the eaves of Wat Phra Kaew, adorned with gold leaf, glazed coloured tiles and mirror-glass inlay. We took this on an old school Sony DSC-P10 on August 28, 2004—back when Kathryn and I were travelling Asia long term!

I took this photo on a gorgeous spring evening in Moscow, and I was taken by the backdrop of the monolithic Russia hotel from the Soviet era, with the onion domes of an orthodox church in the foreground. The hotel was in the process of being demolished, so I’m not sure whether it still stands. I took the photo with my old Sony DSC P-73 in May 2006.

Here is my submission which is Parliament in Ottawa during the Mosaika Light and Sound Show. It not only represents the Gothic Revival architecture, but gives a completely different spin with the light and sound show. Looks like the building was drawn with crayons, its a completely different look on a classic architectural design.

Saint Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro) located in Vatican City. The basilica you see today has an architectural style of high Renaissance baroque. This shot was taken on a cloudy afternoon and the camera positioned to look towards part of Michelangelo’s dome. Colors have been subdued to reflect the feel of the current weather conditions.

This was taken in Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. The architecture in this mall is extremely unique. This is the first place I have been told by a security guard to put away my camera for “safety reasons.

Doi Suthep is a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Chiang Mai and is a must see if you’re in the area. Better yet, rent a bike and make the drive up at sunrise like I did to grab this pic. Nothing like being there virtually alone

Comments

Hey Jason! We’ve put up an entry over at our blog. It’s a shot of the eaves of Wat Phra Kaew, adorned with gold leaf, glazed coloured tiles and mirror-glass inlay. We took this on an old school Sony DSC-P10 on August 28, 2004—back when Kathryn and I were travelling Asia long term! Thanks for hosting this week—we’ve watched Travel Photo Roulette progress and have quite enjoyed it. This is our first entry!

I took this photo on a gorgeous spring evening in Moscow, and I was taken by the backdrop of the monolithic Russia hotel from the Soviet era, with the onion domes of an orthodox church in the foreground. The hotel was in the process of being demolished, so I’m not sure whether it still stands.

This is our submission for this round of travel photo roulette: the guest house at Mogo?oaia Palace, near Bucharest – Mogo?oaia Palace was built some 300 years ago in the Romanian Renaissance architectural style.
We took this photo three weeks ago.

Here is my submission for this round. The King Abdullah Mosque in Amman, Jordan.
It was acloudy dy but I had always wanted to get a shot of this mosque. The blue roofs just seem to jump out right at you.

Man excellent topic and pics this week, Pete you stole my pic I wanted to submit! Here is my submission which is Parliament in Ottawa during the Mosaika Light and Sound Show.
It not only represents the Gothic Revival architecture, but gives a completely different spin with the light and sound show. Looks like the building was drawn with crayons, its a completely different look on a classic architectural design.

“The Reichstag is the German parliament building in Berlin. Built with a modern design, the upper levels is a circular walk way that gives views not only of Berlin but down in to the hall of parliament so that residents can see their representatives in action”

Looks like a great place to showcase some awesome photos. What great fun! Here’s my submission.
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Saint Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro) located in Vatican City. The basilica you see today has an architectural style of high Renaissance baroque. This shot was taken on a cloudy afternoon and the camera positioned to look towards part of Michelangelo’s dome. Colors have been subdued to reflect the feel of the current weather conditions.

Here is our submission. http://www.ordinarytraveler.com/images/430.jpg This was taken in Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. The architecture in this mall is extremely unique. This is the first place I have been told by a security guard to put away my camera for “safety reasons.”

Caption: “Doi Suthep is a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Chiang Mai and is a must see if you’re in the area. Better yet, rent a bike and make the drive up at sunrise like I did to grab this pic. Nothing like being there virtually alone.”

Thank you everyone for submitting such amazing photos! With so many great photos, we are going to have a hard time choosing which blogger’s photo will win the coveted bragging rights of “Winner of Photo Roulette #17.” I will post the winner tomorrow, so check back to see who won.

Digital is amazing at times but overall, I feel like it’s killed the magic of photography. There used to be a feeling of being in a secret club when one developed your first photo in a darkroom. I miss that.